Players' contracts to have performance linked payments clause

Mumbai, Apr 2 (UNI) The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is expected to go ahead with the signing of the new contracts with the country's top cricketers, though a clause for payments related to performance might be included.

India's dismal performance in the World Cup will be discussed at a specially convened meeting of the BCCI Working Committee on April 6-7 here. The issue of players' contracts, which has been slated for signatures after the mega event, will also figure in the meeting.

Nagpur-based Vice President Shashank Manohar is a member of the special contracts committee and has been vocal about the need for performance-related contracts. In the wake of the Indian team's poor display, his views are bound to carry a lot of weight.

The new contracts are due since November.

Besides Manohar, the special contracts committee comprises former BCCI chief Inderjit Singh Bindra, another Vice President Lalit Modi and the office bearers.

Niranjan Shah, the board secretary, speaking from Rajkot said the contracts issue might be ratified at the Working Committee meeting, as the committee specially formed to put them in place has already completed the job.

''We have had discussions with captain Rahul Dravid on the matter before the team went to the World Cup,'' Shah said.

''The Indian team was travelling or was engaged in matches and the contracts could not be signed. We have a healthy relationship with our players and both were not in a hurry. Now the contracts are ready and may even be ratified at the meeting,'' he said.

Coach Greg Chappell's and team manager Sanjay Jagdale's reports on India's performance at the World Cup will be tabled on the first day of the meeting.

''The coach and manager would submit their reports to the President (Sharad Pawar) on April 6 during their meeting with the office bearers at the BCCI's headquarters here,'' Shah said.

Shah said that the meeting with seven former captains that has been convened in the afternoon on April 6 will focus on discussing ways to improve Indian cricket.

''We will ask for their guidance,'' he added.

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Chandu Borde, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri and Krishnamachari Srikkanth are the ex-skippers who have been invited to meet the BCCI's office bearers.

UNI